Applied Modern Witchcraft focuses on solving problems and personal development through magick. It’s better living through witchcraft. I believe that all of us have a mission – or multiple ones – that we are assigned in each incarnation. While everyone’s mission is different, all of us can use witchcraft to help us fulfill it. I call this creating a magickal life. The spell for it includes realness, persistence, taking risks, and a whole lot of hustle.

Yes. I’m talking to you. It’s either late Sunday evening or early Monday morning, but before I drift over to the dream world, I wanted to say a few things. You know “the late night after a great day” sort of intimate conversation that is as real as it is raw. Sometime after midnight my filters shut down, leaving only a whole lot of realness.

That picture above is the altar I created on this Dark Moon night, reflecting what I think are the key ingredients of creating a magickal life. I always do some sort of major magick when starting a new project, whether it’s creating my own magickal life or supporting others while they do likewise. These days I’m more engaged in the support side of that equation.

The Real Work

What’s on my mind is writing about the real work of creating a magickal life. For me, this is the point of witchcraft. There are other things, particularly helping others – but my real work is to live the life that I believe is my assignment in this incarnation. I’m not talking about our careers and jobs. Nope. That place we go to – the office, the school, the store, the call center, the factory – unless it gives you joy, it’s not your real work. That’s where you go to pay the bills. Or maybe your paid employment is your bliss. Lucky you.

The Upside Down

I believe that many of us aren’t so fortunate. Personally, I had a career – and life – that from the outside looked pretty freakin’ good. On the inside things were a hot mess. If you’re a fan of Stranger Things, think of The Upside Down. I knew I was miserable, but I couldn’t seem to get out of it – with magick or mundane strategies. My life was about as un-magickal as imaginable. There were many misguided attempts to sort things out, but my shadow self always seemed to get in the way. I was afraid, anxious and angry. There were many great reasons for being this way. However, the problem was that these reasons were actually in my way.

In the midst of all this, I started teaching courses that blended magick with modern personal development strategies. I loved being able to merge my private passion for witchcraft with my public career as an internationally recognized expert on psychosocial support programs, including things like stress and raising challenging children. Contemplate the irony for a moment. Now add to the pile that my own children were struggling because I was so busy helping others. Oh, and teaching those courses that brought me joy had the opposite effect on my primary employer, a children’s and women’s hospital. Nothing in my life made a lick of sense.

“Create a Magickal Life”

Fast forward a few years. Imagine me sitting at my desk wondering why everything I’ve tried – including lots of witchery didn’t seem to be getting me anywhere. I was stuck. Big time. I stumbled onto the phrase “create a life worth living.” Those words were a life raft. I turned the expression into “create a magickal life” because I knew the only way to joy was to embrace everything I was, including my witchcraft.

Step 1: Figure Out What That Means

My first spell was to help me determine what would make me jump out of bed in the morning without an alarm clock because I was so excited about the day ahead. I sat with this for a long time. The pages in my journal stared at me blankly. Nevertheless, I persisted. Then one day this vision of what my magickal life would look like started to form.

Step 2: Sink Into Realness

Being stuck like I was, it was difficult to see how I was going to create this magickal life. One thing I knew for certain that it was going to be a ton of work. And that real witchcraft was needed. That and a whole lot of everyday stuff. I made a commitment that there would no longer be any separation between magick and the mundane. I did spells to help me accept the reality of my life. Because only by sinking into realness could I rise out of it. Does this make sense? Realness happens when all the scary stuff is faced with open eyes.

Step 3: As Above, So Below…Hustle, Hustle…Off You Go

Then I got busy. For me, this included radical lifestyle revisions and therapy. Magick and everything else I could think of was enlisted to support me as I battled the emotional, psychological, relational and financial problems I had. I could lie and say it was easy, or that I handled it all with grace and finesse. But, why do that? This is a late-night intimate conversation. We’re too deep into realness for bullshit. Listen witches, it’s all about the hustle.

Step 4: Trailblazing

That brings me back to the beginning of this story. About sitting here at the keyboard feeling positively joyful. I had a perfect day with my witchy friends. We did a cliff-top ritual, ate great food and even squeezed in some “witchcrafting” with eggs. All this kept me from doing other things, like writing a blog and launching my newest course. Regarding the former, I’ve been itching to write about creating a magickal life for the past few days ever since I had one of those moments of pure bliss while I was literally trailblazing through the woods on my property. While wrangling a massive brush cutter, this sense of pure contentment washed over me. I had fully created my magickal life. It occurred to me that trailblazing had been a requirement of getting to this moment.

The Real Work of a Magickal Life

Now back to the work that is Keeping Her Keys. I had posted on the website a brief description of a course that I had taught locally called The Real Work. People started paying for it without even asking me one question. I started to send out the original version, but that little voice said not to. That it was time to change it up to be more real. To focus on helping people embrace their own innate power to create their magickal life. That this was the real work. I went deep into the psychological and spiritual brush about this. So deep in was I that I took the day off to clear trails, unintentionally getting myself back in touch with my real work. It has been a full circle week around here.

Not Problem-Free

There’s been problems and splashes of drama here and there, but, all things considered life is about as magickal as it gets. One thing I’ve learned is that living a magickal life doesn’t mean there won’t be difficulties. What it does mean is that I can handle them much better.

Finally: Do the Work

Perhaps my late-night ramblings will inspire you to think about your own real work of creating a magickal life. Know this, it probably won’t be easy. In addition to sinking into realness and figuring out what had to be done, I had to actually do the work. I had to take risks while getting my act together. There was major changes in lifestyle…and income. Not an easy thing to do. I also learned to use my witchcraft in an entirely different way. While it may not have been easy, I’m here to tell you that it’s most definitely worth it. Maybe you’ll end up writing a blog at 2:00 am, perfectly content in your slightly run-down coastal cottage so excited for tomorrow that you wish it was already here. I wish you a magickal life of your own creation and all the best in doing the real work to get you there.

Another inspiring article Cyndi! This quote really made a lot of sense to me, as I have and are having some issues too. “create a life worth living.”
I did a New Moon Ritual last night, to try and get more crap out of my life and to move forward. Then you post this article. Perfect timing and thanks again! I have to continually remind myself, let those past problems go away! Hail Hekate!!